


Dungeon Crawling!

by ProducingTrashyContent



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor, Fun, Gen, Romance at the end, Slight Manga Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:48:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25182793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProducingTrashyContent/pseuds/ProducingTrashyContent
Summary: Join Leopold, Asta, Noelle, and Mimosa as Mereoleona Vermillion takes them to train by forcing them to clear a dungeon!
Relationships: Asta/Noelle Silva, Gauche Adlai/Grey, Mereoleona Vermillion/William Vangeance, Vanessa Enoteca/Finral Roulacase
Comments: 10
Kudos: 72





	1. Gathering the Group!

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this on my account on Wattpad. Link here: https://www.wattpad.com/user/BaxterScienceBoi34
> 
> Thanks for reading!!!

It was a bright and sunny day. The perfect day to build up muscle with some muscle training. The perfect day. At least, that was Leopold's perfect day. As he worked out, the sun climbed higher into the sky, making him sweaty. Pulling his shirt off, Leo continued his workouts. Some time later, he stopped for some water.

"Well, the day can't get any better than this." Leo grinned. Putting the water back up to his mouth, Leo drank until a large slap to the back caused him to spit out his water and knock him to the floor. There were only two people strong enough to do that - his brother, Fuegoleon, and his sister, Mereoleona.

Fuegoleon was definitely strong enough to knock Leo down, but his brother was very kind and respected others. He wouldn't sneak up on Leo and make him choke on his drink. That could only mean -

"Get your ass off the floor Leo. You and Mimosa are going training. And I will be supervising." Mereoleona smirked as she lifted Leo by the seat of his pants and turned him to face her.

"Excuse me, dear cousin," Kirsch twirled out from behind Mereoleona and put a hand up in the air. "But did you forget that I am supervising the training as well?"

Scoffing, Mereoleona turned to her eccentric cousin. "Stop bragging or I'll make you train with them."

"Oh dear!" Kirsch held a hand up to his chest. "Don't make me train! I'm too beautiful."

Mimosa walked out from behind Kirsch and rolled her eyes and muttered something along the lines of "please just disappear." Shaking her head, she smiled and turned to Leo.

"Hi Leo! You excited?" Mimosa sounded excited, but fear was written all over her face as her eyes darted between him and his sister. Leo ignored her fear and flashed her a thumbs up and promptly worked his way out of Mereoleona's grasp.

Now on the floor, Leo redressed and wiped the sweat off his brow. Some of the sweat splashed onto Kirsch and he ran away, shrieking about being filthy.

"Well that takes care of him." Mimosa said with a little laugh.

"I doubt it. Once he cleans himself again, he'll be back like flies on a corpse." Mereoleona grumbled. Leo went tight-lipped at the choice of figurative language but said nothing.

"Hey, so what are we doing to train?" Leo turned to his sister. A sinister smirk crept across her face. Now scared for his life, Leo made a run for it, but a fiery paw closed down on his head and trapped him in place.

"Where do you think you're going, little brother?" Leo frowned. If he was going to endure hellish training with his elder sister, he might as well bring a friend along to make it fun.

"Hey sis? Can I bring a friend along?"

A dark chuckle emitted from Mereoleona. "Why not? The more the merrier."

* * *

At the Black Bulls Hideout, it was a normal day. Luck teased Magna, Magna got upset and engaged in battle with the electric blond, Gordon mumbled to Gauche, Gauche ignored Gordon and stared at a photo of Marie with a trickle of blood running out of his nose, Grey sat beside Gauche and hid her face, Charmy cooked and ate, Vanessa drank from a wine bottle while playing with Finral's hair and conversing with Noelle, Finral wore a heavy blush on his face as Vanessa played with his fluffy hair, and Noelle chatted with Vanessa. Asta was outside training and Yami was in the bathroom.

"I'm telling you, Noelle. You gotta take the plunge. He'll never figure it out on his own, so you have to help him." Vanessa wrapped her arm around Finral aimlessly and pulled him close to her. Now pressed against Vanessa, Finral had to calm himself to prevent blood from rushing to his face. He was shocked that he was sitting so close to Vanessa. Keeping his breathing in check, Finral turned out of the conversation.

"I don't know Vanessa. I'm not even sure I feel that way about him." Noelle played with her hair as she mumbled.

"Of course you feel that way about him! How many times have you subconsciously reacted to other girls being with him?"

Noelle sighed. "I guess you're right."

The front door of the hideout slammed open, and Asta came jogging inside without a shirt. Noelle's eyes were immediately drawn to his bare form before she blushed and covered her eyes. Unfortunately, Noelle would have to see shirtless Asta for a while longer, because he came over to the couch and tapped Noelle on the shoulder.

"Hey Noelle, you ok?" Noelle's eyes ran across every crevice of his body before her eyes shut and she screamed.

"Stupidsta! Don't you know it's rude to talk to people shirtless?" She sent a small ball of water hurtling towards Asta. It knocked him all the way across the room and into Charmy's now-finished cake.

"Oh no, my cake!" Charmy squealed.

Asta lifted his head and pulled himself out of the cake. "Oh man. Charmy, I'm sorry. The cake looked really good! Guess I have to take a bath now."

"You won't get away with this today, Asta. My loyal sheep, attack!"

A short brawl commenced between Asta and the sheep cooks. The sheep cooks attacked Asta with spatulas and chased him around the hideout. Watching the brawl stressed Grey out, so she covered her face and tugged at Gauche's sleeve. "Please stop them, Gauche."

Gauche threw a frown at the running Asta and shot a beam from his mirror at him. When that didn't work, he yelled at the boy.

"Asta, quit your battle with the sheep or I'll kill you. You're stressing my beloved Grey out." Asta didn't hear Gauche and kept running from the sheep. Gauche mumbled something under his breath before pulling Grey onto his lap and pressing a kiss to her forehead and showed her the picture of Marie he was holding.

"Geez, can't a guy catch a break here?" Captain Yami walked out from a nearby hallway and into the chaos of the common space. His presence was able to stop the brawl between Asta and the sheep cooks and the fight between Magna and Luck.

Yami inhaled from his cigarette before lecturing his squad. "I was taking a nice, big ol' shit-"

The front door of the hideout was blasted off its hinges and flew across the room. Mereoleona Vermillion stormed in with Leopold, Mimosa and Kirsch close behind. Yami's eyes went wide and he turned to his squad in urgency.

"Oh shit, we've got a wild animal loose in the base! Everybody, run as fast as you can! And if she catches you, play dead."

Mereoleona rolled her eyes and shoved Leopold forward. Leo scanned the room until his eyes landed on Asta. "Hey Asta!"

"Hey Leo! What's up?"

"Is that was this all was?" Yami shook the ashes off his cigarette. "All this worry about the wild animal, and it was only for this Crimson Lion cub to say hi to the kid?"

"So, Asta, wanna come training with Mimosa and I?" Leo was practically bouncing with excitement. There was also a hint of desperation as well. If Asta came along, whatever horrors Mereoleona had planned for Leopold would be more bearable.

Asta grinned. "Would I? Of course! That would be awesome!"

Noelle stared at the two boys, a blush slowly forming on her face. Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Noelle turned to meet Vanessa's face. Winking, she shoved Noelle forward.

"Go with them, Noelle. Maybe you can finally tell him how you feel."

Noelle certainly did not want to tag along on another one of Mereoleona's training escapades, but she did want to spend more time with Asta. Making a decision, she yelled it out before she could change her mind.

"I'll go too!"

Mereoleona smirked from her spot and summoned a fiery paw to grasp Noelle's head. Noelle tried to loosen the law's grip on her head but failed. Mereoleona had her in her grasp once again. Mimosa's eyes went wide when Noelle volunteered to come along. She ran over to Noelle to make sure she was okay after Mereoleona man-handled her.

"Oh, Noelle! Are you alright?"

Noelle let a sigh escape her lips as she crossed her arms. "I could be better. I don't know why I volunteered to come."

Mimosa smiled. "Are you sure you didn't come because of Asta? I'm very happy that he's coming along."

Growing wide-eyed, Noelle's cheeks became bright red at the statement. "You idiot! I didn't come because Stupidsta was coming. I-I came t-to train! Hmp!"

"Alright, you all had your happy reunion," Mereoleona growled. "Now, to the canyons!"

Asta chuckled nervously as Mereoleona grabbed the four with her fiery paws. "Hey, Fuegoleon's sister, why are we going to the canyons?"

Mereoleona chuckled darkly. "Oh, you'll see. You'll see..."

Gulping, Asta trembled in excitement and (mostly) nervousness at the prospect of training with Mereoleona once again.


	2. Into the Dungeon!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took some inspiration from The Legend of Zelda fight me

At the bottom of a canyon, Leopold, Asta, Mimosa, and Noelle stood at the entrance of a large cave. A bit further in, the untamed cave walls met a prisinte doorway that resembled those in the royal capital. The only difference was that these doors were much larger than even the buildings in the royal capital. Asta's eyes sparkled as he finally noticed the doors inside the cave.

"Wow! Who knew there'd be super pretty doors in this canyon! And they're so huge! It'll be hard to open them!"

"They're just doors, Asta," Noelle huffed with the flip of her hair. "I guess you can't seem to comprehend that."

Mimosa smiled nervously. "The doors are really big, Asta."

"I wonder how we'll open them!" Asta squealed. 

Kirsch twirled out from behind Mereoleona once again. "You must open it with your magic, of course. But, you don't have magic, do you? Nasty little sewer rat..."

"Oh! No sweat! I'll just smash those doors open with my sword!" Asta reached into his grimoire and pulled out the Demon Slayer Sword and held it up to the sky. With a wide grin, Asta ran forward to attack the doors. Leopold began moving as soon as Asta took off. 

"Hey, Asta! Don't leave me behind!" The Crimson Lion cub shouted as he sprinted after his friend. While running, Leo pulled out his grimoire to be able to break the door down with Asta. He didn't want Asta to take all the credit.

"Flame Magic: Spiral Flames!"

A spiral of swift flames shot towards the large doors just as Asta leapt up and smashed the doors open with his sword. Leo grinned once the doors opened and high-fived Asta. 

"Woo! Nice going Asta!"

Asta laughed. "Yeah! Now let's go!"

Noelle and Mimosa stared at the boys as they marched onward into the doorway. Suddenly losing balance, Mimosa and Noelle tried to keep a firm footing on the rocky landscape. Mimosa succeeded in keeping her footing, but Noelle fell onto her chest. As Mimosa helped her up, Mereoleona appeared in Noelle's field of vision with a frown. 

"You girls better catch up with the boys, or I'll make you train to hell and back when we get back to the capital."

Noelle and Mimosa's eyes widened, then they took off in a burst of speed as though they had a lion at their heels. Well, they did, but Mereoleona chose not to chase after them and instead made her way up the rock face to an alternate entrance that would allow her to monitor the teens while staying out of sight. 

Some cherry blossoms flew into Mereoleona's face as Kirsch landed beside her. He began rambling about how beautiful his magic was and how amazing he was. Mereoleona rolled her eyes, grabbed the front of Kirsch's shirt, and pinned him to the wall of the alternate entrance. A fiery paw slammed down on Kirsch's legs, preventing his legs from kicking Mereoleona to escape.

"C-cousin! Please don't kill me! I'm too beautiful go die!"

Mereoleona growled. "Say one more thing about yourself and I'll beat you until you're all bloody and bruised. Then I'll tie you up and leave you for whatever animals lurk inside the dungeon."

"Okay okay!" Kirsch cried out. "I'll shut up, just please don't kill me!"

"Hmp." Mereoleona released her eccentric cousin and marched inside the dungeon. With wobbling legs, Kirsch followed behind her.

* * *

After walking for some time, the four teens came upon a large room with a part of the floor being made of ice. On the icy part of the floor were 3 blocks and two switches. Asta was baffled that there was ice in the middle of a canyon. 

"Wow! There's ice here! Who knew!" Asta ran out onto the ice and began sliding. Leo ran after Asta and began sliding around as well.

"Hey Asta, how about we battle on the ice? That would be a cool challenge. See what I did there?"

"Nice pun!" Asta smiled. "Yeah let's fight!"

"You idiots!" Noelle scolded them. "Don't fight. You'll melt all the ice away, and we need the ice for something. It wouldn't be here for no reason."

"Noelle is right," Mimosa chipped in. "Look, there's some writing on the wall."

Pointing to the wall, Mimosa dragged her finger across the words written on it. "Welcome to the Trials of Courage. You will now be tested on a series of skills that will determine your worthiness of being the Hero of Legend. If all the trials are cleared, you will be deemed worthy to be the Hero of Legend and will be granted a priceless item for your endeavors."

"Oh man! A priceless item! What do you think it is Asta?" Leo bounced in excitement. 

"Oooh, maybe it's something to help with strength training!" Asta got down on the floor and began doing push-ups as fast as he could. Doing the same beside him, Leo laughed and listed things he thought the priceless item could be.

"Haha! They are so funny, aren't they, Noelle?" Mimosa laughed at the boys antics. Noelle let out a "hmp" and flipped her hair over her shoulders. 

"They are such idiots. At this rate, we'll never get out of here. How about we actually figure this puzzle out?"

"Good idea, Noelle." Mimosa walked up to one of the large blocks sitting on the ice and made an attempt to push it, but it didn't budge. Seeing that Mimosa was having trouble, Noelle helped her push the block across the ice, but the block still wouldn't move. After a few minutes, the two girls gave up and sat down on the floor to catch their breath. 

Asta and Leo stared at the girls the entire time with blank expressions. Furious, Noelle walked up to Asta, shot a ball of water at him, then walked up to Leo and kicked him across the room.

"Hey! What didya do that for, Noelle? I'm all wet now." Asta removed his squad robe and squeezed it to removed any excess water. Beside him, Leo rolled around on the floor with his arms between his legs.

"Ow ow ow ow ow!" Leo cried. "What the heck, Noelle! You kicked me where it hurts!" 

Noelle rolled her eyes. "I hope you learned your lessons, you imbeciles."

Slipping the cold robe over his head, Asta shivered. "What lessons?"

"Ugh, you don't even know!" Noelle sighed. "Honestly, you guys are idiots. Standing there and just staring at me and Mimosa struggling."

While Noelle lectured Leo and Asta, Mimosa made another effort to move the block, but this time, she used her Plant Magic to assist her. This time, the block moved. Even if it only moved a tiny amount, it was a good sign that the four needed to combine their physical abilities with their magical ones to move the blocks.

Leo ran over to Mimosa once he noticed what she was doing. "Oh hey! Combining our magic and physical abilities to move the blocks. Nice one Mimosa."

"Um, I don't have magic." Asta muttered. "So how am I supposed to move the blocks?"

"Ugh, Dumbsta," Noelle flipped her hair and worked to move the other block. "I have more than enough magic for both of us. Now come help me move this block."

The four tried moving the blocks for awhile but soon realized they needed to coordinate to get the blocks to sit on the switches. After coming up with a plan, the four began pushing the blocks over the ice to land on the switches. The ice made it easier for the blocks to slide, but they made it hard to get a grip on the floor.

About an hour later, Asta and Noelle slid the last block to land on the switch. When the last block pushed the switch down, a mechanical sound echoed around the space they were in. Soon, a wall that Leopold thought was just rock split open to make way to a new room. Before the young mages entered the next room, a explosion went off behind them. Moments later, Mereoleona and Kirsch emerged from the smoke from the explosion. Mereoleona carried Kirsch over her shoulder, as the young Vermillion was unconscious. 

"Oh no, Kirsch!" Mimosa rushed over to her brother's side. "What happened, Mereoleona?"

"Don't waste your time worrying about him," The eldest of the Vermillion siblings scoffed. "The idiot saw a rat and ran away, but the rat caught up with him and touched him, and he passed out."

Mimosa stood up and backed away from the unconscious Kirsch. "Oh, well, that's sad. Stupid Kirsch..."

Leo rolled his eyes at Kirsch's actions, but that still didn't explain why they broke through a wall. "Hey Mero, why-"

When she heard Leo use her nickname, Mereoleona grabbed her younger brother and pinned him to the wall. Leo was shocked that his sister reacted that way. He tried to escape, but her iron grip held him tight.

Mereoleona lowered her lips to Leo's ear and muttered. "What did I tell you about using that nickname outside our home?"

_Oh, that's why she's upset._ Swallowing, Leo answered. "To...to not use it outside the house?"

"Exactly. Now, if you use the nickname again, I'll kill you."

Leo began panicking. "Fuego said not to threaten people with death!"

Mereoleona released Leo and threw him to the floor. She placed her foot on his back and pushed him down until he was flat against the ground. Leo eventually stopped struggling.

"If you give me 1000 push ups with my foot on your back as resistance, I won't kill you."

"O-ok!" Leo quickly got to work. A few minutes had passed before Asta finally asked the question Leo was going to ask.

"Hey, Lady Mereoleona. Why did you blast through the wall? I thought you and Mr. Fancy Pants were monitoring us from afar?"

"Oh, that." Mereoleona groaned. "I would've stayed where we were, but there was a colony of rats. One touched the dumb ass and he was out cold."

"Ew. Also, why did you attack Leo cause he called you Mero-"

Mereoleona pinned Asta down faster than he could blink. Asta was on the floor next to Leo. Maybe he could answer the question.

"Hey Leo-"

Mereoleona growled. "I only have so many feet, so I'm gonna lay across your backs and you each have to do 1000 push ups for me. Now shut up and do them or I'll kick your brains out!"

Knowing he couldn't talk at a normal volume, Asta whispered to Leo. "Hey Leo, why did you get in trouble for using that nickname?"

"I used to call her that when I was little," Leo grunted between breaths. "and it stuck. She's a sucker for the name at home, but in public, she hates it when I call her that. I tend to forget sometimes and end up like this."

As the boys chatted, Mimosa glanced around the room and began to realize that this dungeon was nothing like the dungeon she cleared with Klaus and Yuno. It was probably designed around a set of tests just as the name of the location suggested. Either way, what Mereoleona was doing to the boys was no help; it only wasted time.

"Cousin Mereleona? This isn't helping at all. We need to get a move on." Mimosa practically mumbled the entire sentence, trembling in fear of her older cousin. Mereoleona raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing. Instead, she got off the boys' backs and lifted them to their feet.

"I'm only letting you guys off easy because we are wasting time. Let's go you cowards!" Mereoleona pointed toward the next room as she slung Kirsch over her shoulder.

"Hey Asta! Let's race to the next room!" Leo shouted at his rival. Asta nodded and took off towards the next room with Leo in tow.


	3. A Turn for the Worst

It took a few hours, but the group was able to clear the next few rooms. Now, they entered a room that was nearly quadruple the size of the other rooms they cleared. The room was dark and had multiple pathways and levels. Leo scratched his head in thought at what the next challenge was supposed to be.

"What are you looking around for, Leo? Get a move on!" Mereoleona growled at her little brother as she kicked him. 

"Wait, Leo!" Mimosa called out just before the redhead could run off into the darkness. Mimosa felt some strange mana coming from the room. Who knew what would be in there?

"Wait, why aren't we going in?" Asta scratched his head. Noelle shook her head. She muttered something along the lines "Stupidsta..."

"Oh, that's right! You can't sense mana, Asta!" Mimosa nodded. "I can sense mana from this room. It may have traps just like the other dungeon we went to."

"Well, we'll never uncover the traps if we stay here," Asta declared. "Let's get a move on!"

The group of young mages moved forward with the adults behind them. Mereoleona told them that she wouldn't step in for any reason. They would have to fight their way out of trouble on their own. Knowing that, the four young mages huddled close as they entered the dark room looking before them. As they shuffled into the room, Noelle felt something run across her foot. She let out a high-pitched scream and latched onto Asta. With Noelle's sudden added weight, Asta stumbled and fell to the ground.

"H-hey, what was that for, Noelle?" Asta asked as he tried to pry Noelle off of him.

"You fell and now I hurt myself! Thanks Dumbsta." Noelle's voice trembled, indicating that her confidence was a facade. Rubbing her nose, Noelle felt a trickle of blood running out of it.

"Oh my gosh, you're both hurt! Both of you stay still and let me heal you," Mimosa separated the pair and sat them in front of her. "Plant Recovery Magic: Princess-Healing Flower Robe."

Leopold ran over to check on his friends when Mimosa gave him a confused look. He made a face at her expression. "What?"

Mimosa pointed behind him. Kirsch was gone. There was no way we would've left Mereoleona's grasp, yet he was gone. Mereoleona looked around for a moment, confused at the situation, then shook her head.

"Nevermind. We'll fare better without him."

Mimosa looked off to the side and muttered. "It is very tempting to leave him..."

"Just fix my nose, Mimosa. Your stupid brother will be fine. He's like a roach. They never die." Noelle grumbled.

After fixing Noelle's nose and a cut Asta had on his arm, the group set off further into the room. The room got darker the further in they went, so when Leo spotted a stick on the floor, he picked it up and set the tip on fire. Even though the room narrowed into a small passageway, there was still no sign of Kirsch, which was concerning. The group then walked into a large, empty room. Kirsch was no where to be found, but at least they didn't find a dead Kirsch anywhere. Leo knew his morbid thoughts weren't helping his nerves.

Asta walked forward into the empty room with his swords out. Noelle was practically on top of Asta the entire time. Mimosa and Leo eventually made their way into the room behind Asta and Noelle. Leo felt something slimy drop on his hand. Shooting a burst of flame upward, Leo spotted a bone-chilling sight: An unconscious Kirsch tied up in what looked like webs or strings. 

A few threads held his body close to the ceiling. His hair was a mess, and bruises covered his face. There were a few trickles of blood here and there, but there were no life-threatening injuries as far as the group could see. Mimosa let out a high-pitched scream at the sight. Kirsch was only visible for a few moments before something pulled his body away into the darkness. Mimosa let out another scream and clung to Asta.

"Um, I hope he's not dead..." Asta stated with a tremble in his voice. 

Mimosa let out another scream. "Don't say things like that, Asta!"

"We need to save him! Even if he is really annoying." Leo declared. He marched onward into the dark room. A mechanical whirring sound coming from the ceiling a moment later stopped Leo in his tracks. Three massive monsters dropped down in front of Leo. They looked exactly like the golems they fought in the dungeon under the Yultim Volcano, but they were much larger.

"H-hey! Let me go! I can't fight without my arms!" Asta cried as the girls clung to him. Noelle immediately let go and dusted herself off.

"I'm royalty, Asta," Noelle declared with disdain in her voice. "I'm allowed to cling and step on you. Now, let's fight."

Mimosa reluctantly let go of Asta, the sight of her unconscious brother still lingering in the back of her mind. She pulled out her grimoire and backed away from the fight, ready to heal any injuries. As Mimosa backed up from the fight, she noticed Mereoleona had gone missing as well.

"Guys!" She called out to her friends. "Mereoleona is missing too!"

Leo blasted one of the golems with a small wall of flames before responding. "Even though she disappeared, my sister will be fine! She's the Uncrowned, Undefeated Lioness after all!"

"I hope Fuegoleon's sister turns up soon. I hope she's ok!" Asta shouted as he smashed a golem in half with a simultaneous swing from both swords.

"Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's Roar!" Noelle shot a spell that obliterated her golem before snapping back at Asta. "Don't worry about Mereoleona. Not that I don't want to, but if she finds out we worried about her, she'll kill us."

"Ouch! You're right Noelle!" Leo shouted as a wall of icicles slashed him in the side. "My sister would never forgive us, especially me!"

Leo made his way over to Mimosa to heal his injuries when a giant blast went off behind the golem he had just destroyed. None of the four teens had caused the explosion, so they knew Mereoleona was further ahead in the cave. Leo was about to rush off towards his sister when Mimosa stopped him. 

"Leo, I know you want to help your sister, but your wound is bad. Let me at least stop the bleeding."

Curses began flying in the tone of Mereoleona's voice from the direction the explosions were going off. At least his sister was alive, but that didn't stop Leo from tapping his foot impatiently on the floor while Mimosa took her time to heal him. After what seemed like forever, Mimosa finally stopped Leo's bleeding, and the four rushed over to where the explosions and the sound of Mereoleona's voice came from. What they saw next was something very unexpected.

The group thought Mereoleona was battling another golem. It turns out she was fighting...herself? Leo shook his head. Maybe he was seeing things. Looking again, he definitely saw two Mereoleonas. Without giving it a second thought, he turned around and left. _Nope nope nope! Not another one! I am not dealing with this crap today._

Mimosa ran after Leo. They needed him after all. "Leo, wait!"

"No. No!" Leo shouted, jabbing a finger at the two Mereoleonas. "I am not dealing with this crap today. I don't wanna get my butt kicked twice as hard!"

Both Mereoleonas simultaneously turned to Leo and shouted. "You're getting a round of hell training when we get back!"

Asta and Noelle clung to each other. That somehow reminded them of Gordon in a weird way. It also reminded them of a story Captain Yami had once told them when the Black Bulls were trapped in their hideout during a blizzard.

The Mereoleona on the left turned away from the teens first and pointed an accusing finger at the other one. "That's the fake! That jackass used a spell to copy my appearance."

Sighing, the Mereoleona on the right examined her nails with a bored expression. "I'm gonna need a nice, long bath in a hot spring later..."

Still clinging to each other, Noelle and Asta turned to Leopold. Mimosa frowned at the sight but said nothing.

"H-hey Leopold!" Noelle tried scolding him, but fear and embarrassment had overtaken her, so her voice wavered. "Which is the real Mereoleona?"

"I-I have no idea!" 

"Dammit Leo! How can you not tell I am the real one?" Both Mereoleonas shouted at the same time. As they both shouted, the Mereoleona on the left created a steel lance and launched it towards the one on the right. Now they knew who the fake was. 

"Damn!" Mereoleona growled as the lance stabbed her in the stomach. Leo froze on the spot. Flashbacks of when Fuegoleon lost his arm came rushing back to him. Leo couldn't even move his feet as Mimosa worked to stop the bleeding. Noelle placed a protective barrier around herself, Mimosa and Leo, and Asta pulled out his swords, ready to fight. Tears formed at the corners of Leo's eyes and threatened to spill.

"Well well well," The fake Mereoleona chuckled. "I took down the Uncrowned, Undefeated Lioness, and this is my prize? Fighting a bunch of teenagers?"

"I won't let you hurt anyone else!" Asta shouted.

Dumbfounded, Leo watched Asta confront the enemy fearlessly while he stood there, trembling in fear. He had a right to be scared. The enemy that took down Mereoleona Vermillion, one of the most powerful mages Leo had ever known, and now Leo was expected to fight them? It would definitely be an uphill battle for Leo, but he had to fight.

"Leo!" Noelle called to him. Leo snapped out of his trance and turned to Noelle. "You have to fight! To protect your sister! This is a chance to prove your strength and make sure what happened to Fuegoleon won't happen to Mereoleona!"

Leo drew in a shaky breath at Noelle's words. She was right. He had to fight. Leo forced himself to move his wobbly legs until he stood beside Asta. Pulling out his grimoire, Leo braced himself to fight.

"How nice." The fake Mereoleona yawned. "Time to end the lives of a few more humans."


	4. Revelations

"You ready, Leo?" Asta asked as he held his sword up with both hands. 

Leo drew in a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Alright then," Asta shouted as he switched into his dark form. "Let's gooooo!" 

The fake Mereoleona was gone before Asta and Leopold even moved. If it wasn't for Asta's ability to sense ki, Asta wouldn't have been able to dodge the punch that came from behind him less than a split second later. Unfortunately for Leo, he didn't have that ability, so he became the fake Mereoleona's punching bag.

"Clearly, one of you has more battle prowess than the other," The fake Mereoleona laughed. "but that begs the question: How do your two female friends compare to you two on the battlefield? I would like to find that out."

Upon hearing those words, Noelle flipped the pages of her grimoire until they landed on the page where her last resort waited. Noelle watched as the fake Mereoleona simultaneously beat Leopold up and launched light swords at Asta. Asta shot upwards to avoid the light swords, then shot back down with his sword in hand, ready to slam it down on Mereoleona's imposter.

In the moment the fake Mereoleona turned to stop Asta's attack, Leo shot the hottest flames he could muster at the copy of his sister. The fake Mereoleona fell forward with singed skin. Asta and Leo held off their next attack for a brief moment. That moment was enough for the fake Mereoleona to escape and make it to Noelle.

Noelle aimed her wand at the fake Mereoleona before she was pulled into a headlock that got tighter by the minute. A sword filled with dark magic appeared out of thin air. Shooting Noelle a smile, the fake Mereoleona pinned the sword against Noelle's neck.

"One more step, and it's over for her." 

Leo and Asta immediately ceased their movements. Asta glanced a Leo with a worried expression, but Leo ignored him and looked past the fake Mereoleona to meet Mimosa's eyes. Leo nodded his head just enough for Mimosa to get the message.

"Plant Magic: Magic Cannon Flower!"

Mimosa created a giant flower the shot beams of magic at the fake Mereoleona. The fake Mereoleona loosened the grip on Noelle's neck for just a moment. That gave Noelle enough time to use the ace up her sleeve.

"Water Creation Magic: Valkyrie Armor!"

Asta's jaw dropped as he witnessed Noelle's magnificent transformation. She had told him about a new spell she unlocked during the battle with the elves, but he had yet to see it in action. If he was being honest with himself, Asta had yet to see a lot of things involving his relationship with Noelle. Noelle was amazing, powerful, and beautiful. Watching her streak across the cave to fight the fake Mereoleona made Asta realize that she was someone who could always fight beside him in battle. She was a royal, making her powerful. But Noelle's real power came from her training and her willingness to help others. Asta felt his eyes follow Noelle's every move as she danced across the battlefield. She was having almost no trouble with the foe that nearly annihilated Leo and Asta a few minutes before. Noelle was also beautiful. In her Black Bulls robe, Noelle was mesmerizing enough, but her new outfit really threw Asta for a loop. It accentuated her best features while simultaneously making for a sturdy suit of armor. Asta couldn't tear his eyes away from Noelle as she gracefully navigated the battlefield to protect her friends. How could he not realize it before? Asta mentally face-palmed at his own stupidity. Noelle was everything he would want in a significant other. His love for Sister Lily was more of an obsession than love. He loved everything about Noelle and wanted to keep her in his life for as long as he could. If he wanted to do so, he would have to act soon. To do that, he needed to fight beside Noelle and conquer this next challenge with her.

"Noelle!" Asta called out Noelle. "You're doing amazing! Let me help you!"

Asta shot into the air to help Noelle fight the enemy. Leo sighed as Asta and Noelle fought the enemy together. That's how fights with other people usually ended up for Leo. He never got any actual fighting done because his teammate was usually powerful enough to defeat the enemy on their own. It wasn't fair. Leo wanted to show what he could do, but he was never given the chance to do so. He wanted to be powerful enough to protect the people he loved. He glanced over at Mimosa and Mereoleona. His sister and brother were powerful enough to protect the entire Clover Kingdom on their own, but Leo couldn't even protect his injured sister without help from his friends. He wanted to prove himself. He wanted to be strong like his siblings. He wanted to be able to fight for what he believed in. But without a chance to prove himself, Leo could never be what he wanted to be. Leo turned his eyes back to Noelle and Asta. They were able to make it this far because they surpassed their limits to fight for what they believed in. They didn't wait for opportunities to come to them. They made opportunities for themselves. That's exactly what Leo had to do. 

The pages in Leo's grimoire flipped until they landed on an empty page. Ink rapidly spilled across the empty page, revealing a new spell that could help Leo make the opportunities that would allow him to fight for what he believed in. This new spell could help Leo open the doors that had previously closed. He would be able to show the people who doubted him that they were wrong. He was just as strong as his fearless sister and his magnificent brother. He was going to surpass his limits to show everyone how great he was. He was going to make something of himself in this world

"Flame Creation Magic: Ignis Tornade!"

A fire tornado appeared out of thin air and sped towards the fake Mereoleona. Noelle dashed towards Asta and pulled him out of the way of the oncoming fire tornado. It was only thanks to Noelle's Valkyrie Armor that the pair even managed to escape. Noelle held Asta in her arms as she watched the fake Mereoleona get sucked into Leo's enormous fire tornado. She was so entranced by Leo's new spell that she didn't even freak out while being near Asta.

After a few minutes, the fire tornado slowed its spin until it disappeared and dropped the fake Mereoleona out of the air. The fake Mereoleona backed up against the wall as Leo, Asta, and Noelle made their way towards the clone. Activating a healing spell, the fake Mereoleona put their arms up in surrender.

"Ok ok, I give! You guys are a lot stronger than I was told."

"Stronger than you were told?" Asta echoed. The fake Mereoleona nodded, then transformed into...Rhya? Asta gasped once he recognized the elf.

"Hey! You're one of the elf guys who were in the Eye of the Midnight Sun!" Asta shouted. "You were a part of the Third Eye, right?"

"Yeah," Rhya yawned. "Since the jig is up, I'm gonna take a nap and heal myself."

"Wait wait wait!" Leo ran in front of Rhya to stop him. It was hard to look Rhya in the face with that bright healing spell active, but Leo pushed through and stomped over to the elf. 

"Do you think this is some kind of joke? You injured my sister!"

Mimosa stopped healing Mereoleona for a moment. "Don't forget about Kirsch! He's still missing!"

"Yeah! Him too! You think this is some kind of joke?"

Rhya chuckled. "I do, actually. I was paid to do this."

A heavy hand landed on Leopold's shoulder. He turned his head and met his sister's shining eyes. Without thinking, Leo pulled her into a big hug.

"Oh, sister! You're ok!"

"Of course I'm ok you idiot!" 

Mereoleona couldn't help but wrap an arm around Leo and pat his back as thanks for worrying. She did get mad when he began squeezing her. Leo immediately let go and smiled.

"You're ok! But how?"

Mereoleona put her fingers to her mouth and let out an odd whistle before laughing. To everyone's shock, the Black Bulls slowly materialized out of the darkness. Most of the Bulls emerged laughing, some way more than others. Yami was laughing the loudest.

"Whoo! Ha ha ha!" Yami laughed hysterically. "We got you four so good! Ha ha ha!"

"Captain Yami?" Noelle and Asta gasped in shock.

"Ha ha ha! That was so fun! Let's fight the cherry blossom guy again!" Luck bounced out of the shadows, dragging an unconscious Kirsch in a sack made of Vanessa's thread behind him. Magna followed, trying to lift Kirsch up from the ground. A moment later, Vanessa and Finral emerged from the shadows. Vanessa had her arm snaked around Finral and a bottle of wine in the other. The pink-haired witch planted a kiss on Finral's lips, leaving the spatial mage blushing in disbelief.

"Eeek! That was frightening! You guys are so strong now. Don't look at me!!!" Grey clung to Gauche as they emerged beside Leo, Asta, Noelle, and Mimosa.

"What the hell is going on here, sister?" Leo was very confused. He thought everyone was in trouble, but it seemed it was all a ruse.

"Ha ha! I got you good Leo!" Mereoleona smiled before telling Mimosa to continue healing her. "This was all an elaborate set up to get back at you!"

Leo's eyes widened at the statement. "This was all a trick? I thought you got hurt really bad! I even unlocked a new spell-"

"And I'm proud of you." Mereoleona let out a puff of air and she patted her younger brother. "I did mean for this to be a training session, but I didn't expect you and your friends to become so strong. Nice job, Leo."

Leo smiled happily before remembering something. "Wait, you said this was all to get back at me for something. What were you trying to get back at me for?"

"The other day at dinner, you ate the last turkey leg after I had claimed it as mine."

"Seriously?" Leo deadpanned.

"Umm, I'm super confused. How did this all happen?" Asta shouted as he held his head. It was practically smoking from the amount of thinking Asta was doing (it wasn't a lot) to figure out how this scheme was set up.

Noelle flipped her hair - which attracted Asta's attention - on instinct before adding in, "Yeah. I'd like to get some clarification as well. Not that I was scared or anything. I'm royalty after all."

Mereoleona chuckled. "Well, it started with the rat, or should I say, that punk with the glass-"

"Hey! Who you calling a punk?"

"Shut up and fight me Magna!" 

"No way, lightning boy!"

Rolling her eyes, Mereoleona continued her explanation. "The punk with the glasses touched Kirsch and made him pass out because 'how could filth such as him touch my beautiful body?' Afterwords, we had your spatial mage assist by bringing Kirsch here with a portal."

Finral was seated on the floor with Vanessa passed out in his lap. Vanessa held the wine bottle up to his mouth. "Wow Fin! Youdidsuchagreatjobweshouldcelebrate..."

"Um, no thanks, Vanessa. Just rest."

Shaking her head, Mereoleona continued. "He also helped getting me around the golems using his portals. The drunk witch used her threads to tie Kirsch up by the ceiling and to wrap him in a sack made of threads. Then we had the girl hiding behind Mr. Sister Complex transform Rhya to look like me. Then, Rhya used his copy magic to fight me."

"Wow, I am very hurt, and I feel stupid." Leo said while massaging his temples. "Why couldn't you pull a normal prank?"

"Because she's Mereoleona Vermillion: The Uncrowned, Undefeated Lioness." Rhya came up from behind Leo and yawned. "I could've never landed that hit in a real battle. She let me for the purposes of the prank."

Smiling triumphantly, Mereoleona slapped Finral on the back. "Take us home, portal boy."

Right then, Vanessa sat up and pointed an angry finger at Mereoleona. "Stay away from him. Finny iz mine!"

Finral pulled Vanessa away from Mereoleona and sighed. "Vanessa, please don't pick a fight with her. She isn't interested in me, and I'm not interested in her. Please don't fight with her."

"Fine, but she better not touch you again."

Mereoleona rolled her eyes. She would've said her interests lied elsewhere, but that would mean admitting she had fallen for that golden masked traitor. She wasn't even sure those feelings were even real. Shaking her head, she walked away from the portal mage. His mannerisms reminded her too much of the someone she wasn't sure she felt something for.

After some time, all of the Black Bulls plus the others were rounded up into the portal that lead to the Black Bulls base.


	5. A.M.K. (Aftermath of Mereoleona's Kidnapping)

Mimosa probably imagined it, but once she saw her bed, she saw a halo of light shining around it. As soon as she was close enough, she practically fell onto her bed. Sometimes she liked being a Vermillion. This was not one of those times. If she was a commoner, she wouldn't have been dragged off on crazy escapades with Mereoleona and end up almost dead and tired. Mimosa frowned as someone else plopped onto her bed beside her.

"Oh dear, oh dear." Kirsch exhaled tiredly. "I never want to see Cousin Mereoleona as long as I live."

"For once, I have to agree with you." Mimosa groaned. "Now, can you leave and go to your own room? Just because I want Mereoleona to disappear more than you doesn't mean I still don't want you to disappear."

"I would leave, but my legs have given out."

Sighing, Mimosa gave up on getting Kirsch out of her room and laid down beside him. _Note to self,_ Mimosa thought as she stole a glance at the now-sleeping Kirsch. _Never go training with Mereoleona again, and throttle Kirsch tomorrow for not getting out of my room._

Mimosa felt her eyelids slowly droop. Her last thoughts were about how she would nearly died while training with Mereoleona, and how she was better off learning fashion tips from Kirsch than training with their insane cousin again.

* * *

"You sure you don't want me to leave you in your room?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine here. See you later, Finral."

"See you Leo."

It took a massive effort, but Leo managed to drag himself to the entrance to Fuegoleon's office. Leo slumped against the door as he knocked. Not only was he exhausted physically and magically, he was exhausted mentally. Leo was still trying to process why his sister had to go to this length to torture him when the door to the office opened. Fuegoleon opened the door and smiled upon seeing Leo.

"Leo! How are you? Do you need something?"

It was a good thing Fuegoleon had fast reflexes. Leo didn't even have the energy to warn his brother his legs were giving out. Fuegoleon picked Leo up and placed him on the couch inside his office. After drinking some water, Leo was finally able to ease his brother's worries.

"I'm fine, Fuego." Leo sighed as he rested his head on a pillow. "There's no other explanation other than Mero happened to me."

Fugeoleon rubbed his forehead once he heard that Mereoleona had tortured Leopold again. He wanted to do something about it, but Mereoleona wouldn't change. Hopefully she would fall in love with someone with a kind heart who could calm her down a bit. 

"What did she do this time?"

Leo proceeded to tell Fuegoleon everything that happened. Fuegoleon wasn't very happy when he found out this was all for Mereoleona to get back at Leo for eating the last turkey leg several days ago. He did have to applaud his older sister for managing to work with so many other people without blowing them up.

"I can't believe Mero did all this to get back at you." Fuegoleon mumbled as he shook his head in defeat. "It's like living with a wild animal."

"But on the bright side, I learned a new spell!" Leo noticed how upset his brother was at all this, so he left the best part of the expedition for the end. Fuegoleon lit up at hearing that Leo had learned a new spell. With perfect timing, Leo's grimoire floated out of his pouch and right into his lap. The two brothers proceeded to examine the spell and secretly thank Mereoleona for giving Leo the chance to grow.

"And then, the fire tornado just raged across the battlefield and sucked up Mero's clone. This new spell kinda reminds me of Mero on a rampage. Anyways, when can I show it to you?" Leo glanced up at his brother with sparkles in his eyes.

"I think," Fuegoleon smiled. "that can wait until tomorrow. At least something good came out of all of this. With your rapid growth, Leo, you'll become an even more powerful mage than me someday."

Leo's eyes sparkled. "You really think so?"

"I know so. Now, let's get you dinner and then get you to your room so that you can rest up. You can show me your new spell tomorrow."

"Yes brother!"

* * *

Mereoleona sat down on a tree stump as pain shot through her abdomen. She and Rhya had planned the way the steel lance would hit her without killing her, but damn, it still hurt a lot. She wasn't even sure she could do tonight's training session. _He_ would definitely love a break from the feral lioness's hellish training.

"Mereoleona? Are you here?"

Mereoleona forced herself to stand up and greet him, ignoring her pain in the process. "Vangeance..."

William Vangeance, The Captain of the Golden Dawn, stepped out of the shadows at the sound of his name. He hesitantly made his way over to Mereoleona and glanced up to meet her eyes. They stared at each other until it became awkward, then broke eye contact. William let out a small cough and bit the inside of his cheek. Mereoleona was staring off to the side angrily.

"So, um, what are we doing to train today?"

"The usual."

"Ok." William pulled his arm back before punching Mereoleona in the stomach. She yelped in pain as she collapsed to the ground, clutching her abdomen. William immediately kneeled down to check up on her. It was very unlike her to do that, and William seriously doubted he was strong enough to cause her pain. Maybe one day he'd be strong enough...

"Mereoleona! Are you alright? I didn't do that, did I? I highly doubt I've built up my muscles to that level yet."

Mereoleona realized she was showing weakness to William and immediately sat up, pretending nothing had happened. William stretched a hand out towards her but pulled it back upon seeing the look on her face.

"That wasn't you. Also, I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone what you just witnessed." Mereoleona growled.

William nodded. "I won't tell a soul. May I ask why my light punch caused you such pain? And with a pain like that in your abdomen, you can't measure the strength of my punch like you usually do."

Mereoleona sat herself back on the tree stump before lightly running her hand across her abdomen. "Sure, I'll tell you. Only if you care to listen."

Maybe it was the moonlight, maybe it was the mask covering his face, or maybe it was a combination of the two, but Mereoleona swore she saw William's eyes light up at the prospect of listening to a story of hers. Her brothers never wanted to listen to her stories, (they were often very brutal) so it was odd to the lioness that William was so eager to listen to a story of hers.

William sat on the ground next to the tree stump as Mereoleona told him everything from dragging the four teens off to watching them complete complex puzzles together to getting stabbed and to revealing it was all a trick.

William was very surprised when he found out it was all a trick. "Wow! You planned all of that? And that's how you got hurt...I see now."

A small smiled graced Mereoleona's lips at seeing the childish shock on William's face. "Yup. I got a lecture from Fuegoleon after he took care of Leopold. He told me not to do things like that again, but the amusement of doing that certainly outweighs the punishment. So will I listen to him? Of course not. I'll live the way I want to, and that's that."

William stared at the lioness, starstruck. "That's just one of the many reasons I fell for you." 

Eyes widening, William slapped his hands over his mouth once he realized what he'd let slip out. Mereoleona, who was staring off into the distance, raised an eyebrow and gave Vangeance an odd look upon hearing those words. Judging by the look on her face, William was sure his slim chance of being with her was ruined. There was no way she would want a weak loser who nearly allowed his best friend to bring the kingdom he loved to its knees. He had so many things he wanted to say, but he stayed silent, his hand over his mouth.

"'That's just one of the many reasons I fell for you?'" Mereoleona echoed quietly. William let a small whimper escape his lips as Mereoleona started at him. He was sure she hated him now.

Her brain was shooting thousands of thoughts into her head at once. _He just admitted he has feelings for me. The hell? That was out of the blue. He feels that way about me, but how do I feel about him?_ Yes, he did house a body for the elf Patry and didn't say or do anything to stop him, but it wasn't as if he had a choice. What had happened in the Clover Kingdom was a result of Patry's blind hatred of humans and a devil's manipulation, but William was still guilty by not doing anything to stop Patry. William was at fault for not doing anything to stop Patry. That made him as guilty as that insane elf. Mereoleona couldn't let herself forget about what Patry used William to do to her brother. 

But, William was trying to atone for his sins, wasn't he? William Vangeance may not be physically strong or the best sparring partner, but his true strength lied in working with others and leading his friends to protect this country together. He may not be able to fight in a battle with Mereoleona, but he wanted to. His strength in being able to face the hardships that come his way despite the odds being against him was something Mereoleona couldn't accomplish outside of the battlefield. But he could do it anywhere. He came to train with her to become stronger so that he could be strong in the face of adversity. Maybe it was a mix of all this and the fact that Mereoleona was attracted to the scar on his face because it made him look like a battle-hardened warrior that made her fall for him as well. She never thought about why she felt so weird around the short World Tree Magic user, but now that she thought about it, she knew why she felt like that. Now that she had accepted her feelings, it was time for William to accept them as well.

Mereoleona lowered herself from the tree stump and sat in front of it, using the stump as a back rest. She met William's eyes and patted her lap. When he cocked his head in confusion, she rolled her blue eyes.

"Just sit here, Vangeance."

"O-oh, ok."

William straddled Mereoleona's legs and sat in her lap. She took his mask off and tossed it to the side before smashing her lips into his. William immediately froze up and didn't move again until Mereoleona removed her lips from his. 

"The hell happened to you?" Mereoleona grabbed a stick from the floor and poked William in the stomach with it. He eventually moved to stop the stick and look her in the eyes again.

"Why did you kiss me?"

_Ugh. Men are so dense._ Mereoleona let out a deep breath. "Because I have feelings for you, you dumb ass!"

"R-really? I thought you hated me?"

"I thought I did, but it turns out I don't." Mereoleona sighed as a small smile graced her lips. "I admire your strength in leading others and dealing with the politics of this country. I could never do what you do. I guess I admire that strength of yours. Also, you scar makes you look like a battle-hardened warrior. I like strong men who can fight in mortal combat and not die."

William threw his arms around the lioness. He was completely in love with this woman. She was the first person to love him for who he was, (and how he looked) despite everything he did. Opening his eyes, William saw Mereoleona give him a hungry look and lick her lips before kissing him passionately. Somehow, she fell in love with this tiny twerp. Mereoleona was glad she found someone who loved her for who she was - a feral animal - and someone who had strengths that she lacked. Removing William's Golden Dawn robe, Mereoleona began a make-out session that William knew would turn into something else. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Noelle let out a yawn as Finral opened his portal to let his friends into the Black Bulls base. The simple task of opening a portal proved to be difficult for poor Finral, with a certain pink-haired witch clinging to his arm and all.

"Thanks for the ride, insect." Noelle muttered as she passed Finral.

Finral frowned. "I'm your superior!"

Out of habit, Noelle checked to see if Asta was following her when she saw his distant expression. His eyes were just like the ones he had when he found out Yuno had won the final battle in the Royal Knights Entrance Exam. The only difference was that his eyes followed Noelle wherever she went. Launching a ball of water at him, Noelle watched as he took the ball of water to the face, then continued staring at her as if nothing happened. Now she was worried.

Gauche passed by the two teens with Grey clinging to him from behind. Asta was behaving weird, but he had a feeling he knew why he was like this. To make sure Asta was behaving like Gauche thought he was, he blasted the boy with a spell. Asta simply stepped to the side, his eyes not leaving Noelle.

"Asta, what's wrong?" Noelle asked him.

"He's in love." Gauche deadpanned. A huge blush formed on Noelle's face while Grey came out from behind Gauche to check on Asta. 

"Gauche is right," Grey squealed while hiding in Gauche's chest. "His eyes won't leave you, so he must be in love. Gauche's eyes wouldn't leave me when he realized he loved me. It was so weird because I wanted Gauche to look at me, but at the same time I wanted to bury myself in a hole. Don't look at me!"

Noelle thought about Grey and Gauche's words. Were they right? Was Asta in love with her? _No! I'm not in love with that insect!_ Noelle realized she was only hiding the truth from herself. She cared for Asta more than she would admit. She also got jealous when other girls wanted to be with Asta. Whenever Noelle wasn't freaking out about Asta, her and the magic-less boy got along very well. On top of that, she enjoyed spending time with him. Didn't that mean she liked him? Yes. She did. Now excited about finally accepting her feelings for Asta, Noelle turned to thank Gauche and Grey when she found Gauche pinning Grey to the wall. Noelle grabbed Asta's hand and ran away, not wanting to see where that led to.

Noelle eventually stopped running when she got to the clearing where she lost control of her Water Magic so long ago. That was the first time Asta saved her. That was where Asta first stole her heart. But how did he feel about her? He clearly wasn't going to talk, so she needed to say something.

"U-um, so Asta. Are you going to say anything?" Noelle mentally slapped herself. She still couldn't talk to the boy without studdering. 

"No that's ok..." Asta mumbled. 

"Ugh, say something you idiot!" Noelle shouted. She couldn't be the only one doing the talking here!

After getting blasted with water again, Asta had finally snapped out of his trance. Noelle had her arms crossed and seemed to be waiting for something. Asta tried thinking. _She seems she's waiting for something. Maybe she asked me something. What did she ask me?_ Asta held his hands to the side of his head before he felt himself reach his limit. 

"Oh man! I don't know what you asked me!"

Noelle rolled her eyes, letting herself smile a little. "I asked if you were going to explain why you've been staring at me."

Uh oh. Asta put his hand to his chest. What was that fluttering feeling in his chest that he felt whenever Noelle spoke or looked at him? It made Asta feel queasy. But at the same time, he wanted to keep looking at her and for her to look at him. All the feelings he felt while Noelle was fighting in the cave came back to him. He had to tell her how he felt. How could he become the Wizard King if he couldn't even tell Noelle how he felt?

"Um, Noelle?"

Noelle raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Asta drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes. "So I just wanted to tell you how I felt. I think you're a super strong person - one of the strongest I've ever met. You're water armor spell is super cool! I've never seen anything like it! Also, I think you're really pretty. I love your eyes and your hair color. You're just really really pretty. I also love how you help others. Most royals are jerks who don't want to help commoners like me, but you're different, and I love that. You're just so amazing and I really like you a lot and can you be my girlfriend?"

Noelle was shocked. She wasn't expecting a full-blown confession from Asta. She could feel her cheeks heating up, but Noelle didn't feel like attacking Asta with water. She couldn't process anything at the moment.

"I-I, huh?" Noelle stammered. Asta came close to Noelle and held her hands in his. 

"You ok, Noelle?" Asta asked. Noelle nodded her head furiously and wrapped her arms around Asta's neck. Asta reciprocated her hug and didn't let her go. He truly felt happy here. He didn't want to let her go. After a while, Noelle pulled her face out of Asta's chest to look at him. She had tears in her eyes. Asta immediately freaked out.

"Oh no! What did I do? I'm sorry, Noelle! I won't do it again!"

"You didn't do anything wrong, Asta. I'm just very happy."

"Oh that's great! I thought I messed up only 5 minutes into our relationship."

_Relationship._ The word bounced around Noelle's head for a while. She was in an relationship with Asta, but this relationship was more than friendship. Now, she could resign herself to her feelings for this muscle-headed boy. Without warning, a thought crossed Noelle's mind that made her jerk out of Asta's arms and sit on the ground.

"Noelle? What's wrong?" Asta asked as he sat on the ground beside her.

Bringing her legs into her chest, Noelle rested her head against her knees. "I just thought, how would my family react to this? A royal falling in love with a commoner."

"Their opinions don't matter, do they?" Asta declared while pulling Noelle onto his lap. "We'll show them that it doesn't matter your social status, royalty and commoner can still be together. Let's show them together!"

Noelle brought her face close to Asta's and smiled. "You really have to stop saying things like that. If I fall in love with you any harder, I may just fall through the floor."

Asta's eyes sparkled. "Wow, Noelle! You have such a way with w-" 

Noelle cut Asta off with a kiss. She could hear some of the Black Bulls cheering quietly from the bushes, but she paid them no mind. She was finally with Asta. But she never imagined that would happen because of Mereoleona's crazy training escapade. But none of that mattered. Together, Noelle and Asta will break social norms and show the world that anyone - from royalty to commoner - can be happy and still shine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I added some romance in the end because I felt like it. Thanks for reading guys!


End file.
